A burglary suspect was killed in a crash during a police pursuit Tuesday night.

Ronald Hoover Jr., 29, was a passenger in an SUV that crashed into a Tuscaloosa Police vehicle on U.S. Highway 82 East.

Someone called 911 at 11:20 p.m. to report a burglary in progess at an apartment complex in the 500 block of Skyland Boulevard East, TPD Chief Steve Anderson stated in a media release. Officers arrived in the parking lot and saw Hoover, 29, and three other people getting into a white SUV, he said.

The driver refused to stop for officers and struck a vehicle as he exited the parking lot. Officers chased the driver east on Skyland Boulevard and then south on McFarland Boulevard.

The driver collided with a police vehicle just south of the Super Skate on U.S. Highway 82 East. Hoover, a passenger in the SUV, was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene.

Two other occupants of the SUV and a police officer were treated for injuries at DCH Regional Medical Center and later released. A third occupant of the SUV was treated for minor injuries at the scene.

Officers charged driver James Thomas Champion, 30, with felony eluding police, leaving the scene of an accident and violation of probation on a previous charge.

The accident occurred just two months after a Fosters man was killed during a TPD police pursuit.
Shadoe McFarland, 25, died after crashing his Chevrolet Trailblazer at the intersection of Stillman Boulevard and Foster Ferry Road on May 18.

According to officers, he refused to pull over during a traffic stop and and collided with a pickup truck as he sped away from the officer, who initiated the pursuit. Troopers investigated that accident and turned the results over to the District Attorney’s office, Jarrett said.